Burger King cooks fast-food deals

'Star Trek,' 'Transformers,' 'Joe' locked down

Burger King is outbidding its fast- food rivals to partner up with Hollywood’s biggest tentpoles.

This summer, the company has locked down Paramount’s “Star Trek” this month, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” in June and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” which bows in early August.

Given its marketing muscle and the exposure it can offer in thousands of outlets, Burger King should provide Par with tens of millions of dollars’ worth of marketing support for those films through its planned promotions — which will include TV spots, an extensive online effort, in-restaurant displays, kids meals and custom food options.

Of course, Burger King isn’t the only fast-food chain that is looking to capitalize on Hollywood summer tentpoles.

Papa John’s has plastered its pizza boxes with “Wolverine’s” claw marks, while rival Pizza Hut is backing Sony and Warner Bros.’ “Terminator Salvation.” Subway is pushing its sandwiches through a partnership with U laffer “Land of the Lost.”

But Burger King’s pair-up with Par marks the first time the chain has exclusively promoted one studio’s pics during the summer sesh. It’s also the first time the studio has brokered three consecutive movie tie-ins with one marketer.

Burger chain has already begun its campaign for “Star Trek,” with an ad lensed by the pic’s d.p., Dan Mindel, and featuring the Enterprise bridge set from the pic.

It unleashed a cast of “Kingons,” a mix between its own King character and the film franchise’s aliens, at the pic’s premiere. The “Kingons” are central to an online game Burger King has launched.

In addition to the traditional toy-filled kids meals, collectible glasses, sweepstakes, games and other activity, Burger King will introduce a BBQ Double Stackticon sandwich around the “Transformers” sequel, and the sequel’s helmer, Michael Bay, is directing the Burger King ads that will tie in with the film.

Summer movie tie-ins have considerably boosted its sales, Burger King has said in the past, and as a result, the company has aggressively pursued more high-profile releases.

“All three of these feature films boast a huge loyal fanbase and have carved out a permanent place in pop culture,” said Russ Klein, Burger King’s prexy of global marketing, strategy and innovation.

It’s not the first time Burger King has promoted Par releases.

Over the past two summers, it’s had tie-ins with Par’s “Transformers,” “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” It also had deals for Universal’s “The Incredible Hulk” and Fox’s “The Simpsons Movie” during the period.